Breathe on me…

This morning, I woke up with an old familiar hymn rolling around in my head. The words to Breathe on me breath of God go like this,

“Breathe on me, Breath of God,
fill me with life anew,
that I may love the way you love,
and do what you would do.”

Breath is important to our lives. Without it, we die. But how critical is it to loving the way God loves and doing what God would do? Today, I want to explore the power of breath.

What would it mean to love the way God loves?

When God created humanity, Genesis 2:7 says,  ^“the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

God breathed the breath of life into man and we became alive.

Let that settle on you a minute, as you draw in a deep breath. That is God in you. The very breath we breathe keeps us alive. Divine oxygen straight from the Almighty.

In verse 2 of that same old hymn, the words are;

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
until my heart is pure,
until my will is one with yours,
to do and to endure.

Job had a pretty pure heart if you ask me. And he endured a lot in his faithfulness to God.

In Job 27:3, Job confesses that his breath comes from God.

Later in Job 33:4,  we read, that “the Spirit of God has made us, and the breath of the Almighty gives us life.” Job understood that anything we are is because of God. He made us and His breath gives us life. That same breath helps us to endure when times get hard.

Isaiah also credits God as giving us our life and breath. He confesses in Chapter 42, “The Lord God who created the heavens and stretched them out, who created the earth and everything in it, who gives life and breath and spirit to everyone in all the world…”

Even Jesus prepared the disciples after his death when he said in John 20, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit…”

My study note says, “Thus anticipating what happened 50 days later on the day of Pentecost. The disciples needed God’s help to carry out the commission they had just been given. ”

If you remember, three weeks ago, in the blog entitled The Holy Spirit arrives, Paul recants that powerful story.

He breathed on them and said “Receive the Holy Spirit.” 

What does breath and life and the Holy Spirit all have to do with one another?

The final verse of that old hymn reads,

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
so shall I never die,
but live with you the perfect life
for all eternity.

God through His breath gives us life. That breath living within us is the Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit gives us power to do what God has called us to do. Without it, we cannot do anything. Without God, our lives are meaningless. But with it, we have life, perfect life forever.

Psalm 34 from The Message reads,

I want to live and breath God. Because without God, I have no life. Want you join me in spreading the good news? Together, let’s get the word out. God is life and breath. And, God is so good!

Let us pray,

God of our very lives, breathe on us your breath which gives us life. We want to love like you love and we want to do what you do. Without You, we can do nothing. But with you, all things are possible. In Jesus name, Amen.

P.S. check on the song below. If you cannot see it, open this message from your browser. Leave me a comment below because I love hearing from you. Forward this message to a friend and ask them to subscribe. Share on Facebook and tag me in. Until next time, with every breath, thank God. -M